Timbers 1, Sounders FC 0 – Portland jumps to first place in the West behind dramatic Alhassan goal

View full sizeKalif Alhassan was called upon to join the starting lineup with the absences of Diego Valeri for injury and Rodney Wallace for international duty, and the young Ghanian responded with a complete effort on both sides of the ball. He scored the only goal on the night while contributing great defense and pace as the Timbers defeated the Seattle Sounders 1 to 0.Jennifer Kesgard, community blogger

Rivalry
matches don't usually need much drama before hand simply because of the
participants. In this instance, it was
the two American teams of the three Cascadian MLS clubs – the Portland Timbers
and Seattle Sounders FC – meeting for the third and final time in the regular
season. With the last of these meetings
taking place at JELD-WEN Field in front of another sellout crowd, there were
other issues at stake when the two teams took the pitch on October 13: the fate
of the Cascadia Cup and playoff positioning, as the Sounders FC came into the
match in second place in the West with 51 points and the Timbers sitting in
third place with 50 points. With both
sides depleted because of injury and international callups, the Timbers took a
lead in the first half behind a Kalif Alhassan goal. Under duress from a second half assault from Seattle, Portland
used an inspired defensive error and some help from the crossbar to hold on for
the 1 to 0 victory.

The
resulting win pushed Portland to the top of the Western Conference with 53 points
and just two matches left on the schedule – an October 19 home date with Real
Salt Lake, who was idle this weekend but sitting in second place with 52
points, and an October 27 road trip to Chivas USA to finish the regular season. With New York
also at 53 points leading the East and Sporting Kansas City in second in the
East with 52 points, Portland,
the Timbers have put themselves into the conversation for a potential
Supporters Shield for earning the most points in the MLS regular season. The honor also adds a berth in the upcoming
CONCACAF Champions League for 2014 – 2015 as well as being the top overall seed
in the postseason. The victory also gave
the Cascadia Cup, the supporter based trophy based upon match results between
the Timbers, Sounders and Whitecaps, to the Vancouver Whitecaps. With the
Whitecaps dismantling of the Sounders back on October 9 4 to 1, the
Sounders needed a win to secure the Cup.
If Portland
secured any points at all, the Whitecaps
would earn the Cup for the 2014 season while also giving them a leg up in
their playoff quest.

With Ryan
Johnson, Alvas Powell and Rodney Wallace all gone with their respective
international teams for World Cup qualifiers (Johnson and Powell for Jamaica,
Wallace for Costa Rica), Diego Valeri dealing with a lingering adductor issue
and Darlington Nagbe having
to leave the Vancouver draw due to injury, Timbers Coach Caleb Porter had
several decisions to make filling his game day roster. Jamaica
surprised the Timbers by not calling up Donovan Ricketts, so Portland was able to use their first choice
goalkeeper. In front of Ricketts,
Portland started the same four in defense as over the past two matches – Jack
Jewsbury at right back, Pa Modou Kah and Futty Danso at center back, and Michael
Harrington at left back. In midfield,
Porter used the same three as he did in Vancouver – Diego Chara, Will Johnson
and Kalif Alhassan, while up top, he gave Jose Valencia the start alongside
Nagbe and Maximiliano Urruti. Valeri
would be available if needed as one of the seven bench players, which also
included the long awaited return of Frederic Piquionne as a substitute.

View full sizeWill Johnson, shown here against Vancouver, was at the center of controversy with a second half incident. After confronting Sounders midfielder Osvaldo Alonzo about a hard tackle, the Timbers captain was struck by an elbow from the Sounders player. After a long discussion, the officials gave Alonzo the heave ho for his conduct despite several animated protests.Jennifer Kesgard, community blogger

For Seattle, they were
missing Brad Evans for international duty, Eddie Johnson due to a knee injury,
Zack Scott for disciplinary reasons, although Marc Burch would be available
despite dealing with his own lingering injury.
The Sounders also got late word that their fabled signing, Clint
Dempsey, would not only be available but he would start up top alongside Lamar
Neagle because Obafemi Martins didn't travel with the team. Sounders FC Coach Sigi Schmid did make a few
wholesale changes, including starting Marcus Hahnemann in goal instead of
regular starter Michael Gspurning after the Vancouver loss.

For Portland, they simply wanted
to employ speed along the wings and up top to try and exploit one of the
Sounders biggest issues – defending along the outside before passes could be
made to space. Seattle wanted to use Dempsey and Neagle to
try and push the Timbers defensively, but they wanted to employ a physical
strategy in the midfield to try and keep control of the overall tempo to try
and protect Hahnemann and the defense.
With a large traveling contingent of Sounders fans stuffed into the
Southwest corner of the stadium and a Timbers Army section brimming with
anticipation, this match had the making of something truly memorable.

First Half Thoughts: Seattle played right into
their early tactics with an aggressive approach, and Center official Hilario
Grajeda allowed the early contact. The
Sounders had the early advantage in possession and made several runs towards
the goal, but only generated two significant chances. That being said, they nearly broke open the
scoring around the 12th minute.
After a foul on Dempsey by Chara that led to a serious talking to from
Grajeda, Seattle set up a free kick attempt about 40 yards from goal with
midfielder Mauro Rosales at the controls, and his cross into the box found
Neagle's head in an advantageous spot.
Neagle put a header on frame with some power, but Ricketts was able to
deflect out for a corner kick for one of his two official saves.

View full sizeTimbers goalkeeper Donovan Ricketts was outstanding again for the Timbers, earning his twelfth shutout of 2013 in the victory. While only making two official saves, they were incredibly difficult efforts with the velocity of the ball and player traffic about him.Jennifer Kesgard, community blogger

Off the restart, Rosales found
Sounders defender Jhon Kennedy Hurtado with a cross that was put towards the
left post but deflected out for a second corner. The second set piece eventually landed with
Sounders midfielder (and former Timbers) midfielder Adam Moffat on the left
part of the box. Moffat put a lovely
cross towards a leaping Dempsey, and the Sounders forward headed the ball
towards pay dirt. While the ball got
past Ricketts, it didn't get past the crossbar and deflected out into play
before it was eventually cleared by the Timbers defense. I applaud the Timbers defense for remaining
calm and organized through the early stages of play, because it gave them
confidence as the Timbers started to find their footing.

Around the 25th minute, it
appeared Portland
was also able to find more room to move offensively. They were targeting Nagbe everywhere he went
on the pitch with several bumps while trying to find space and the Timbers
midfield seemed much clogged until a defensive play when Chara intercepted a
ball led to a counter run where Moffat eventually pulled Alhassan to the turf
by his arm where he received a caution.
Since the Chara tackle, Dempsey was in severe pain trying to move about
on the pitch, and the offense suffered because of lack of movement. Dempsey eventually left the match for
evaluation while several substitutes feverishly warmed up in case they were
needed early. The Timbers tried to press
with the man advantage as the Sounders weighed their alternatives, but the
training staff taped up Dempsey's shoulder and sent him back to play moments
later.

The Timbers finally put Hahnemann
under duress in the 33rd minute with a free kick from the right
where WJ found Jewsbury in the center of the box, but the header was high and
wide of goal. Six minutes later, the
Timbers put together consecutive shot attempts from a breakaway by Nagbe that
generated a corner, followed by shot attempts from Valencia and Alhassan that showed
the attack was getting into gear. A 41st
minute corner kick from WJ to Alhassan resulted in a blocked shot, it was
evident the Timbers were exerting their will on the match and that pressure
eventually paid off with the match's first goal. With the Timbers attacking on the right, W.
Johnson put a cross into the box intended for a teammate, but Sounders defender
DeAndre Yedlin was able to collect. His
attempted clearance, however, didn't get very far and it fell into the path of
Alhassan. The young midfielder briefly
settled the ball, and then smashed it into the lower left corner of goal past
Hahnemann as the clock went into first half stoppage time. Kalif did earn a caution for a shirt waving
celebration, but the goal was the result of much improved movement and passing.

View full sizeDiego Chara had another stellar effort for Portland, but he found himself embroiled in some unwanted attention after his 12th minute tackle on Sounders forward Clint Dempsey. Dempsey apparently was injured on the play, but continued to play through the situation. I thought the play did signal the Timbers intent to not allow the Sounders to intimidate them with their physical play.Rick Curwen, community blogger

Second Half Thoughts: Rosales had an extended conversation
with Grajeda as the teams left the pitch at the half, and it appeared that the
Sounders plan for the second 45 minutes was to amplify their plan to see if it
would disrupt the Timbers' offense. It
was Portland, however, that started the stanza
with confidence as Valencia
nearly missed in the 48th minute with a laser shot that just skied
over the crossbar on the North End goal.
The passing was starting to find room as Urruti and Alhassan had great
leading passes for shots on goal, but the runs didn't generate official
shots. Seattle, meanwhile, was watching their
offense stagnate as Dempsey tried to gut through his injury. Seattle
did make a change in the 57th minutes to bring on David Estrada, but
instead of pulling out the ineffective Dempsey, they chose to pull the
playmaking Rosales instead.

Portland
continued to pressure with a WJ shot that flew into section 110 in the 57th
minute and a Kah header off a 61st minute corner kick, but soon
after that, the Timbers seemed to tire a bit and Seattle was starting to
counter themselves. Sounders midfielder
Alex Caskey triggered a corner kick in the 62nd minute that flew
invitingly through the box, but nobody on his side could tap the ball on
frame. Porter sensed the change in tide
and brought on the defensive minded Ben Zemanski for Valencia, and the move did generate
some good movement until the 72nd minute when the match intensity
exploded into a completely different level.

While
Hurtado brought down Nagbe with a physical challenge that brought him a
caution, Sounders midfielder Osvaldo Alonzo tangled with W. Johnson and brought
him down with a hard tackle away from the ball.
When Will came over to talk to him about the challenge, Alonzo stuck out
his elbow and struck the Timbers captain in the face. While Grajeda was dealing with Hurtado and
checking upon Nagbe, he didn't see the contact, but assistant Corey Rockwell
witnessed the entire incident and informed Grajeda of what occurred. Grajeda gave Alonzo a well deserved red card
despite the various protests of Schmid and his players, but Alonzo
didn't exactly stop there as he verbally assaulted Rockwell, fourth official
Ricardo Salazar and Grajeda before he could be restrained and ushered from the
pitch. The melee earned Dempsey a
caution for dissent, and with the many different encounters between a mass of
Sounders players and various officials, I would expect there to be more
disciplinary action.

View full sizeThe win over Seattle sets up an interesting battle on October 19 at JELD-WEN Field when the first place Timbers take on second place Real Salt Lake. The Timbers have a chance at the Supporters Shield with the win, but New York has the advantage right now on the first tiebreaker, so the Timbers would need them to lose at least one of their final two matches while they secure points against RSL or Chivas USA in their regular season finale.Associated Press photo

Once the
situation calmed down, Seattle
finally pulled Dempsey for forward and part-time rapper Steve Zakuani. Zakuani and Estrada produced a credible
threat in the 80th minute that forced a Ricketts save, while Urruti
got loose on a wonderful forward run in the 82nd minute that
produced a shot wide left of goal.
Urruti tweaked his hamstring on the play, however, and was eventually
replaced by Piquionne for the final stretch.
Despite being down a player, Seattle
threw everything forward in an assault on goal as the Timbers went into a
bunker. Substitute Sal Zizzo replaced
Alhassan and fed Piquionne at the top of the box at stoppage time, but his
attempt was blocked before setting up a wild finishing sequence.

Chara fouled
Neagle on the right, giving Moffat a chance with a free kick a minute into
stoppage. His effort flew into the box
and Kah tried to clear the ball, but it fell right to Zakuani who set up to
shoot. His effort found the crossbar and
deflected clear of goal, meaning this was the second time that the woodwork
denied the Sounders a score. The Timbers
eventually cleared with Zemanski making a great run down the left that ate up
several seconds of time. As the pressure
continued, the Timbers remained composed until the nearly six minutes of
stoppage had passed and the final whistle blew.

Final Thoughts: The result gave Portland
53 points, which tied them for most points in MLS with New York.
However, the first tiebreaker for the Supporters Shield is wins, and New York has 15 wins compared to Portland's 13. With second place Real Salt Lake visiting on October 19 for the
final home regular season match, the stakes for the Timbers just get that much
higher in their quest to secure a playoff berth. With the Timbers six points clear of sixth
place San Jose
going into this weekend, the team has all but officially clinched a postseason
berth based upon the math. However,
their final spot depends a lot on other results and their ability to beat an
RSL team that has provided them several frustrating moments during play this
season.